Home › Glossary › Letter C

crossed verse

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Verse emphasizing inversion or crisscross relationships of ideas or sounds

Detailed Definition
Crossed verse describes a poem in which thematic, imagistic, or syntactic elements from different stanzas or sections intersect or interlace, producing a non-linear, web-like structure that invites multiple interpretive pathways and resists straightforward narrative progression.
Example
Example in poetry:
Crossed verse where rhymes cross over, ABAB pattern; Verses where first line rhymes with third, second with fourth; Interlocking rhymes in terza rima; Spenserian stanza crossing rhyme sounds
Additional Notes
Crossed verse is a general term for poetry that utilizes a crisscross or alternating pattern, commonly in its rhyme (ABAB) or in a mirrored thematic structure; a synonym for cross-pattern verse.
Also Known As
Crossed rhyme verse Interlaced verse Interwoven poem alternating verse
Skip to main content